There have been so many moments where all I can think is, “is this really my life?”, in the best way possible. I have been able to see and experience such fun, hard, frustrating, joyful moments that I can barely wrap my mind around it at times.
This month, my team and I are living in Athi River, Kenya, at a YWAM (Youth With a Mission) base. The past week and a half of living here have brought about so many of these moments that have left me in awe of this life that I get to live. Allow me to share just a few with you.
Last Wednesday, I found myself spinning around a field hand-in-hand with a little girl from the school of deaf we visited, both of us giggling until we both fell off our feet from dizziness.
Every evening, we get to walk out the back gate of the property we are staying on, and within 10 minutes we are walking through herds of giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, and antelopes. Living right near the bush has been such an incredible experience. The sunsets, evening walks, and seeing wild animals so up close are some of my favorite parts of this month’s location!
Last Thursday, I found myself inside a men’s prison in the Machakos county, nearby our base. There, the prisoners put on a whole program for our teams. They had their choir perform for us, an acrobatic team do many pyramids and stunts, and we got to worship and share the gospel with them. Many men shared that they desire to turn their lives to the Lord after the program.
At the YWAM base, there are teams from literally all over the world staying with us. I have been able to build fun friendships with locals here in Kenya, along with YWAM students from Germany, Australia, India, Canada, and Norway. We spent our last off day going to a nearby pool with new friends from the Norway team. They taught us so much about their culture, American politics, and everything in between. We also got to learn a lot from them as we lead ministry together all week. I learned just how loud Americans are, and just how fun it is to make new friends and share in experiences on outreach together.
Through each of these experiences and friendships, my mind has been in awe thinking, “is this really my life?”. None of these experiences did I ever see in my life as I naively planned my future out last year. But, praise the Lord for His unexpected blessings and for the beautiful things my eyes have been able to see. He has gifted me far more than I could have ever expected and I see how dearly He desires to give abundantly to His children.
